Heaven and Hell

Heaven and Hell, it should be pointed out, are really Black Sabbath - or Black Sabbath circa 1979-82 - who have taken the name of the first album they recorded in that period, when Ronnie James Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as singer. If this seems confusing, it is, in all honesty, the simplest way of explaining the labyrinthine history of a band that has had more lineup changes than Spinal Tap.

Given the sorry, shambling figure that is Ozzy in concert these days, it is not difficult to see why guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler re-enlisted Dio. Their output - a slick, histrionic blueprint for 1980s metal - suffers in comparison to the raw, bluesy doom of the Ozzy years, but even among Black Sabbath's die-hard fans it has enjoyed a radical reappraisal. Although his contribution is seen as a second tier to the godhead status of the band's first six LPs, Dio has not yet tarnished his image by appearing as a sad cartoon figure on a reality TV show.

In a manner remarkable for a man of his years (he turned 65 in July), the American singer danced and pranced around the stage like a Saga version of Axl Rose - and the approving crowd flashed their devil-horn signs with abandon. Dio even takes credit for introducing this staple of heavy metal fandom, the pinky and index-finger raised salute.

It is with that kind of rock pantomime that Black Sabbath - sorry, Heaven and Hell - excel. The stage of this soulless arena was transformed into the grounds of a spooky old church, with Marshall stacks penned in like tombstones by cemetery fences. If the veteran rockers took this as an unfortunate reminder of their own impending mortality, it didn't show. Only drummer Vinny Appice, dwarfed by a drum-kit of outrageous dimensions, looked in any danger of expiring, the towering pylons of cymbals wobbling alarmingly over his head as he pounded away.

However, a bit of "make the most of it while we can" brevity would have been welcome. The slow, doomy Sign of the Southern Cross nudged 10 minutes; the set-closer - Heaven and Hell, naturally - dragged on so long as to make planning for the night bus an unwelcome possibility. Entertaining? Undoubtedly. But only those truly caught up in the moment could have argued that this was in any way comparable to Sabbath at the height of their powers.